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Sole Witness Of The Delhi Gang Rape Says Documentary Is "Fake"
BBC

Avanindra Pandey, Nirbhaya's friend, has backed the Indian government's decision to ban British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's documentary on the Delhi gang rape.

Pandey, sole witness to the brutal attack on the 23-year-old student on December 16, 2012, described the controversial documentary, India's Daughter, as "fake."

"The documentary is unbalanced as the victim's viewpoint is missing. The facts are hidden and the content is fake. Only Jyoti and I know what happened on that night and the documentary is far from truth," he said, IBNLive.com reported.

Pandey said that he had never heard of tutor Satendra, featured in the documentary, who says, "Avanindra Pandey wanted to watch an action film while Jyoti wanted to watch 'Life Of Pi'." "Moreover, how does he know which movie I wanted to watch on that night," Nirbhaya's friend told the website.

In 2012, four adults were given the death penalty in the Delhi gang rape case, one died in prison and a minor received three years imprisonment in a correction facility. The documentary has kicked off a storm because it features an interview with one of the convicted men, who blames the victim for the brutal gang rape in a moving bus.

Pandey and Nirbhaya, who were trying to find their way back home after watching a film, hailed down a bus around 9:00 pm on the fateful night. Pandey was badly beaten while trying to fend off the men. They were thrown off the bus in a nearly naked state. She died two weeks after the horrific attack perpetrated by five men and a minor.

Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus, who is presently being held in Tihar jail in Delhi, blamed Nirbhaya for being outside home at a "late” hour. “You can’t clap with one hand--it takes two hands. A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," he told BBC in an exclusive video interview. "Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 per cent of girls are good," he said.

Pandey said the documentary made "fun of emotions and questioned the law and order situation" in India. "The documentary has dented country's image and questioned law and order situation. The documentary showed that any individual can enter the Central Jail of our country and can interview a criminal," he told IBNLive.com.

Pandey said the he had been approached by Udwin to be part of the documentary. "I was approached by many people and it started one and a half years ago, in 2013. I did not want to be part of it as I was not convinced by its motive. Also, I was not mentally prepared and had health issues as well," he said.

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